Washington has no law requiring firearm owners to register their firearms.
Firearms dealers in Washington are required to keep a record of every handgun (and ‘semiautomatic assault rifle’, effective July 1, 2019) sold, in a book kept for that purpose, which must be personally signed by the purchaser and the seller, each in the presence of the other.1 The record must contain the date of the sale, the caliber, make, model and manufacturer’s number of the weapon, the name, address, occupation, and place of birth of the purchaser and a statement signed by the purchaser that he or she is not ineligible to possess a firearm.2 One copy of the record must be sent within six hours by certified mail to the chief of police of the municipality or the sheriff of the county in which the purchaser resides.3 A second copy must be sent within seven days to the state director of licensing, while a third copy must be retained by the dealer for six years.4
In addition, Washington requires every pawnbroker and second-hand dealer in the state to maintain a detailed record of all firearm-related transactions. See the Washington Private Sales section.
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